The Blackbeak witches arrived two days ago. Manon Blackbeak and her esteemed Thirteen were rather chill and relaxed upon their arrival. Most of them were pleased to see Elide alive and well, but Manon was outright joyous to reunite with her. I even think they're sharing a room.

Dorian got settled in a room next to Chaol's, and I've been sharing it with him. We haven't done anything since that night in the cave, but it's nice to be near him. My mate. It's obvious Rowan can tell something is going on with us, but he hasn't said anything and neither have I. With the budding alliance and everything else, there just hasn't been an appropriate time to discuss relationships things with him.

Aedion and Manon have been going over what our - few - plans are for the war and defensive strategies against the Duke's army. Chaol, Rowan, and Dorian, along with some members of the Thirteen, often join those discussions, but I rarely do. I go over and finalize plans in the end, okay-ing this or that, but mostly I try to stay out of it. I'm not as useful in a humid, cramped room making battle strategies than I am with communications. Lysandra and I have been giving updates as needed to the people of Terrasen, which is difficult because not only are we in hiding, but so are a lot of them. They're also in a great state of panic and displacement, which makes getting out important information a tiresome task.

Working on the alliance with Adarlan is our secondary focus. Dorian and I, being the King of Adarlan and Queen of Terrasen, respectively, are basically alone in making these decisions. In our spare time - which we have very little of - we sit under the peach trees out back to hide from the summer sun, chatting lightly about happier things than war and violence and loss. Dorian's made a lot of progress in honing his magic, so sometimes we'll just playfully conjure up our fire and ice.

It's nightfall now; the others are all inside finishing up supper and telling stories to pass the time before returning to the common room. Dorian and I snuck out with some fruit and wine, heading towards our favorite peach tree. We clink glasses before sipping down the sweet cherry wine.

"Don't drink too much, we don't need a tipsy Queen giving out orders." Dorian chuckles. I nudge his arm and kiss him on the nose. We haven't had many chances to be alone, so a peck on the cheek or a quick brush of our lips is all we can manage. So I give into our brief period of solitude and give him a full kiss.

He smiles and I blush. He takes my hand in his and squeezes it gently. "I've been considering something, Aelin. Announcing the alliance to both your people and mine won't be easy, I know, but I've wanted to ask you this for a long time. With everything going on between us now, I…" He pauses and exhales deeply. He drops down onto one knee and pulls a small box from his back pocket.

"Oh Gods, Dorian…" I can't even think of what to say. Is this really happening?

Dorian opens the box to reveal a glistening ring with jewels the colors of Adarlan's flag. "This is the ring King Gavin gave to Elena hundreds of years ago. It's been passed down in my family line ever since. To all who have worn it, it's represented a bond of love rooted deeply in pure goodness that is to be carried out in the rule of the people of Adarlan. My mother gave it to me after my father died; to her it is a reminder of what Adarlan used to be. Of what it should be. I'm giving this ring to you, Aelin Ashryver Galathynius, in hopes you'll add yet another surname to your already ridiculously long name. I love you; you're my mate and I want you to be my wife. My Queen. Will you do me that honor, Aelin?"

Tears are slipping silently down my face. Tears of a mess of emotions inside me - happiness and excitement, but also caution and confusion. To be with Dorian for the rest of my life, to rule beside him, to love him forever...it's all I could ever want. But if I accept, if I take that ring, what will that mean for my people? What will that mean for his? My heart is telling me yes, but my heart has made some untrustworthy choices in the past.

I calm my breathing and steady myself. "I love you, Dorian, but Terrasen does not love Adarlan."

He nods and stands up, but keeps the ring out. "I know that. But after this war, so much will be different. Who says that they can't love each other? My father is dead, and you have returned. There's nothing stopping us from making up. Even if that could somehow never happen, I will still love you. And I will still want to marry you."

I pull him into me and hug him. "Yes, I'll marry you, you beautiful idiot! I love you!" I kiss him again, deeply and passionately. I can sense that there are people nearby, but damn it all to hell - I don't care. I look into his sapphire eyes and say what needs to be said before anything else happens: "We'll need to further discuss what this means for our two countries, Dorian. Nothing is settled now."

He nods again, still grinning like a madman. Madly in love, isn't that what they say? He slips the ring onto my finger and it shines in the orange, setting sun. I kiss him again, my arms around his neck and his arms around my lower back. I could live in this moment forever; I could keep my eyes closed and disappear into it. Sink in and never come back. This is what I need.

Somebody coughs from behind us so we break apart. I turn around and see Chaol, arms crossed and eyebrow raised. He's smiling, though. "I figured this would be happening sometime soon. Tell me the alliance is real and wasn't just an excuse for this?" He comes up to us and hugs Dorian first, then he hugs me. It's just the three of us together for a minute, just like how things used to be.

Lysandra comes out next, shouting at us, "Chaol went to get you guys like ten minutes ago! There's something Aedion has to tell you two apparently." She trudges up next to Chaol. "Why are you all so happy?" she asks, frowning.

I blush and hold up my hand. She takes it in hers, examining the ring. She looks up, a smile breaking out on her perfect face. "Oh my Gods, for real?"

"That's right; she's all mine!" Dorian exclaims proudly which just makes me giggle. Lysandra gives me a strong hug, gives Dorian a quick one, then returns to hugging me again.

"Okay, I'm super excited for you guys, but Aedion really does need to talk to you."

We follow her back inside and into the common room, Dorian and I holding hands the whole time. Aedion, Rowan, Manon, and the Thirteen are all seated. Lysandra closes the door on her way out.

Rowan raises an eyebrow at me when he notices Dorian's and my hands intertwined. Were you going to tell me about this?

I shake my head. Don't bring this up now. We'll talk later, I promise.

"Good, you've finally decided to join us," Aedion remarks bitterly. This must not be very pleasant news. "Please sit. I'm afraid this news isn't to be taken lightly." Like all of our meetings go, everyone sits while Aedion stands at the head of the table, always a leader. But this time he take a seat as well, saying, "Manon, go ahead."

Manon Blackbeak stands up, her moon white hair swaying as she moves. She has a fierce grace about her, something that makes you unsure whether to run far away from her or to run up to her and kiss her. No one dares to say a word as she prepares to speak. She clears her throat and begins, saying, "My clan and I are more than honored to assist you and your people, Queen Aelin - any family of Elide is family of mine. But the other witch clans, the Yellowlegs and the Bluebloods, will be far harder to convince.

"I believe the Bluebloods can be swayed to join us, but that will be difficult. My Thirteen and I will be returning to the Wastes tomorrow in order to pursue this hunch - which reminds me, Elide is coming with us. As for the Yellowlegs, there seems to be no possible measure to ally with them. Aedion and I have gone over several ideas, but overall the Yellowlegs are still pissed about their Matron. Rather understandably, might I add. No offense to you, Queen."

Manon returns to her seat, her statement now over. Aedion rises to finish up before I'm expected to comment on the situation. "The Yellowlegs are more than likely to side with the Duke rather than to stay out of the war altogether, purely for spite of you, Aelin. We need to go over our current plans to reevaluate them, factoring in this new information." He sits down, signaling for me to say something.

I remain in my chair but I clear my throat and speak up. My hands are still tangled with Dorian's under the table. "Good. We should begin reevaluating the plans tomorrow morning, as soon as we've seen the Blackbeaks out. Tomorrow will be a busy day, so I encourage you all to get a good night's sleep. Any questions or comments?" I ask.

Only one hand gets raised. He doesn't wait for me to say anything before he begins. "Has there been any progress on the Terrasen-Adarlan alliance planning?"

I give a side glance to Dorian who nods back at me. I nod at him, then we let go of each other's hands before both standing. "Yes, actually. King Dorian and I have been doing, some, um, thinking, talking really," I babble, regretting it instantly. I can feel the heat rise in my cheeks. This isn't how I want to tell Rowan about everything, but it's also too late. How am I supposed to say this? It just happened!

Dorian takes over. "Queen Aelin and I finalized the plans this evening. We have been carrying out a romantic relationship, and it made sense, for the sake of the alliance, to progress in this relationship further."

"We're engaged," I finish. Nobody says anything, not even the man who asked the question. "Within the next few days, when there's time, Dorian and I will work on sharing this news with Terrasen and Adarlan."

Aedion is the first to react; he gets up, fully smiling, and crosses the room to pull Dorian and I both into a hug at the same time. This triggers hugs and smiles and polite comments from the rest of the room, but I notice Rowan slip out, trying to be unnoticed. But Dorian seems to notice, too, because he leans in and whispers to me, "You should go after him. I'll see you in our room later, okay?"

I nod, squeeze his hand in a "thanks", then rush to follow Rowan. I owe him an explanation - after everything, I owe him so much more than that, but I owe him this at the least. I trail him outside toward the peach trees, but he goes beyond them. He ends up climbing up the hill and resting at the top, letting the blackness of the night sky consume him. I sit next to him in the silence, trying to come up with something to say when he beats me to it.

"I always knew, Aelin. That he was your mate."

I'm stunned. "What?"

He won't meet my gaze yet he continues. "The first time I saw you two together, in his castle, months ago, I knew. You were mine and he was just your friend, but the way you looked at him...I knew. It reminded me of me, when I was with…" His voice trails off, getting quieter, like it's too much pain to say her name. "I was selfish; I kept you for myself and never told you. When we had that fight and you ran off...then when you showed up again with him...you were different. Like a painful burden had been lifted from your shoulders, like you could finally feel peace and serenity because you'd found your mate.

"So I knew that you knew, too. And I knew you'd never be mine again."

I reach out and grab his hand. "Rowan, you mean so much to me. You're my carranam. I'll always love you, of course, just like I'll always love Chaol. But Dorian is my mate, and I'm in love with him."

Rowan finally looks up at me, his green eyes sad but calm. "It's okay, Aelin. Part of me always knew it could never last between us. I mean, my mate has already come and gone...there's only the one. And I'm incredibly happy for you, Aelin, because you've found your one."

We both smile: I can tell he's thinking about Lyria; I'm thinking about a certain dark-haired king.